Heretofore, the prior art has proposed use of, what is often referred-to as, "cable and hose carriers" in association with, for example, machine tools and/or robotic production devices and apparatus. Such prior art carriers were intended to support and control the position of such items as, for example, electrical power, signal and control conductors and cables as well as hoses as for coolant or other fluids. Further, the support and control thusly provided was for the purpose of enabling such conductors and/or cables and/or hoses to move with a moving or movable portion of the associated machine tool or other production or gauging apparatus without requiring the moving or movable portion of the associated machine tool or other production or gauging apparatus to support the full weight of the conductors, cables and/or hoses.
Quite often, especially in such applications as robotic welders, the moving or movable portion of the robotic welder is an arm-like assembly which must extend a relatively great distance, in an unsupported manner, in order to perform its welding function. Further, often the work piece is in motion while the welding operation is being performed. This, in turn, requires that the associated conductors, cables and/or hoses also move with the arm-like assembly. The extended nature of the arm along with the weight of the associated conductors, cables and/or hoses and coolant requires a comparatively more strongly constructed arm-like assemblies which, consequently, weigh more and require motors of greatly increased horsepower merely to be able to properly move such arm-like assemblies.
As already generally indicated, the purpose of such prior art carriers was to eliminate the need for the moving or movable portion of the machine tool or other production or gauging apparatus to have to support the full weight of the associated conductors, cables and/or hoses etc. while still having such move with the moving portion of the machine.
One form of such prior art carriers is sold under the trademark "GORTRAC" which is a registered trademark, in the United States of America Patent and Trademark Office, of A and A Manufacturing Company, Inc., having an address of 2300 South Calhoun Rd., New Berlin, Wis., U.S.A. The said "GORTRAC" brand carrier is illustrated in a publication of said A and A Manufacturing Company, Inc., identified as Bulletin PR100-E and bearing a U.S.A. copyright notice, by said A and A Manufacturing Company, Inc., of 1981. The prior art carrier illustrated therein is typical of the prior art carrier structures in that such are generally limited to only a "to-and-fro" motion which, in effect, limits the connected associated conductors, cables and/or hoses to movement in generally a single plane and within such plane to only two directions which are opposite to each other.
Even though to some extent such prior art support and carrier structures have been successful they are, nevertheless, usually comparatively very heavy and exhibit undesirable inertia and, further, are generally incapable of anything other than single-plane movement. In contrast, especially in robotic applications, the actual needs are quite opposite; that is, the weight and inertia of the support and carrier structure should be as little as possible and, further, the support and carrier structure should have motion capabilities whereby the connected associated conductors, cables and/or hoses can move, simultaneously, with the moving portion of the machine, in three directions of movement, if necessary.
It has been suggested that the prior art carrier structures, of single-plane movement, could be combined in order to provide, for example, movement in two planes. That is, one of such prior art carrier structures could, in effect, be used to support a second of such prior art carrier structures with the thusly two combined carrier structures being arranged so that their respective paths of motion be transverse (perpendicular) to each other. Such resulting structures are comparatively very heavy and exhibit increased inertia and, unfortunately, still provide for those portions of the associated conductors, cables and/or hoses as are connected to the moving portion of the machine, to move only in a single plane.
The invention as herein disclosed and described is primarily directed to the solution of the aforestated as well as other related and attendant problems of the prior art.